Santa Ana and Garden Grove, in cooperation with the Orange County Transportation Authority, are proposing to build a system covering the four miles between the Santa Ana Regional Transportation Center and a proposed transportation center in Garden Grove.

The cost is estimated at $180 million for a first phase ending at Raitt Street to $250 million for a system that would run to Garden Grove.

In Santa Ana, the project would help connect people with government offices, courthouses, downtown businesses and Artists Village. The city foresees a system with streetcars running on rails embedded in the pavement, powered by electricity running through an overhead line, picking up passengers at regular stops – as many as 25 – about every 15 minutes from 6 a.m. to 11 p.m., with fares comparable to those for buses.

Plans call for a north/south corridor along busy Harbor Boulevard to Garden Grove's hotel district and the Anaheim resort area, while a 3.5-mile Anaheim leg would connect the resort area and Platinum Triangle to the planned Anaheim Regional Transportation Intermodal Center, just off Katella Avenue east of 57. Key destinations include the Disneyland Resort, Anaheim Convention Center, Angel Stadium and Honda Center.

Anaheim has issued a request for proposals from consultants interested in working on what's called the Anaheim Rapid Connection Fixed-Guideway Project. The consultants, who face a Monday deadline to turn in their proposals, would prepare environmental documents, prepare applications for federal funding and coordinate preliminary engineering.

CIRCULAR ROUTE

Santa Ana Mayor Miguel Pulido, who sits on the OCTA board, last week led a study session before the City Council on the project. When the OCTA board meets Monday, he plans to make a similar presentation and provide several recommendations, he told the council.

His city, he said, has both the need and the potential ridership. He said seven of the most heavily used OCTA routes pass through Santa Ana, and a fixed guideway that would connect central Orange County would relieve traffic along I-5, benefiting commuters from cities north and south.

“What we're talking about is a circle that would connect central county,” he said. “If you travel around the world and look at transit systems, these circles are very important because that's the way, often, that transit works. People are able to get on at different points and go in diverse directions and connect.”

He said he wants to see an initial operating system roll out in a first phase of the Santa Ana-Garden Grove portion of the project, connecting the city's train station, via Santa Ana Boulevard, with Raitt Street. Ultimately the line would run along the Pacific Electric right-of-way to a proposed Garden Grove regional transit facility, around Harbor Boulevard and Westminster Avenue. The city is still obtaining input on a preferred route.

A key, he said, is getting a $180 million initial operating system in place.

“I believe there is a possibility that we could begin with that,” he said. “Often when you begin with something, it's easier to go back to Washington and say, ‘Let's add to the system,' than to say, ‘We don't have a system' and we need money from the get-go.”

The city has confronted criticism over the project. A 2010 Orange County grand jury report, whose findings were contested by the city, criticized its selection of Cordoba Corp. for a $4.85 million contract related to the project. Last week, the City Council agreed to spend an extra $322,491 for environmental analysis for the project after a subconsultant to Cordoba failed to deliver environmental documents on time.

CONTROL ISSUES

Santa Ana is exploring various options for funding, including federal and local sources.

Pulido said that the use of Measure M funds, rather than federal funds, would result in the project moving along more quickly, with construction beginning as early as 2015 instead of 2017, and operations beginning in 2017, about 21/2 years ahead of a federally funded project.

He said that he will request a funding strategy both for construction and for operation and maintenance.

“I believe that ultimately OCTA needs to own and operate the system,” he said. “We will assist in development and in defining the routes, but this has to grow, and the way it grows is through OCTA.”

The city is looking at two alternative routes. One would start at the Santa Ana Regional Transportation Center, with a downtown segment generally centered on a Fourth Street and Santa Ana Boulevard loop. The second also starts at the train station, generally centered on a Fifth Street and Civic Center Drive loop. Alternatives include steps such as improved bus service.

City officials expect the public to get environmental studies by late summer, with the Santa Ana and Garden Grove city councils expected to choose a preferred alternative in fall.

Some commuters question the need for the project, saying that bus service to and from the train station is adequate.

Others, such as Woodland Hills lawyer Richard Kahanowitch, who rides the train to Santa Ana several times a year, say it would fit into their train-taking lifestyles. The lawyer, who was toting stacks of legal documents, said that getting to the courthouse can be a challenge.

“I'd get right on that puppy. It would be perfect for me,” he said. “My clients wouldn't have to schlep me over there.”

The streetcar project is an outgrowth of the voter-approved extension of Measure M, which was approved in 2006. Through its 0.5 percent sales tax, it included funds to develop transit extensions to the Metrolink corridor, known as Project S funds.

OCTA is working with the cities to ensure that their work meets state and federal requirements, and also to identify funding sources, including local, state and federal funds.

About $23 million in Project S and additional funds have been awarded to Anaheim, while about $11 million has been awarded to the Santa Ana/Garden Grove team. The cities also have contributed, bringing the totals to $25 million in local investment for Anaheim and $12 million for Santa Ana.

Santa Ana expects its environmental report to be completed this year.

Anaheim expects its environmental work to be done in 2014. It's anticipating an analysis of alternatives and selection of a preferred alternative by fall, with preliminary engineering in early 2014. The project could be designed and built by 2018.

Timelines for Garden Grove aren't as developed.

“The possible extension of the systems to connect along Harbor Boulevard is very preliminary,” said Laura Scheper, an OCTA spokeswoman. “However, OCTA is supportive of providing that regional connection, and there is potential in the future for the two systems to connect along Harbor Boulevard.”

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